I HATE art

As an artist, there are multiple ways to express me. I always like the work of art that has a lot of thought to it and it clearly shows a good amount of work has been put in. Even if an artwork isn't appealing to me, I will respect the time worked off the piece.

But when the artwork is not only lazy but also without any definitive meaning, then it doesn't achieve the minimum level to an artwork.

Meet "The Comedian" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

This piece of work is considered by the artist as a joke compared to many artworks, and he isn't wrong.

This is a joke for many people that see this, but nothing else. It was reported that the artist said this work was up to $120,000. He has 3 of them, the 3rd going up to $150.000. 

A reporter by the name of James Grebey (2019) said the following: 

"On the one hand, the hundred-thousand-dollar banana duct-taped to a wall is Good. People always like to dismiss modern art as simplistic, often remarking, “I could make that.” The go-to come back to this statement is, “Yeah, but you didn’t.” Hate all you want, but you didn’t just make a couple hundred grand by attaching maybe a dollar’s worth of produce to the wall with three pieces of tape from a roll that couldn’t possibly have cost more than 10 bucks. Maurizio Cattelan did."

At first hand, the artist didn't win any of this money, the majority of the money was given to the museum. What the reporter said was a "Comeback" is basically using their common sense by telling that it's so simple that no one wanted it for anything, even as a picture or a photograph. 

This is all well and good, but then there was a problem. It was said that because the piece was a fruit, it would decay, and if people wanted to keep the image of the banana as it was, they would need to change it from time to time. Artists start to question that if the banana is not the artwork, and just the image, is the artwork just an idea that costs $120,000? The answer is complicated, it was said that it was exactly that, but you can't copyright or sell an idea to people, because it's basically not possible. Most people that tried to buy thought they would get the banana, but instead it wasn't. As stated by "The conversation" website (2020):

"The collectors who bought and subsequently donated the work to the Guggenheim did not receive an actual banana or a piece of duct tape. Instead, what they got was a document, a so-called certificate of authenticity that granted them the right to recreate the work and instructions on how to do so. It stipulated, among other things, that the banana should be hung 175cm above the ground and that it should be replaced every seven to ten days."

When we talk about modern artwork, it comes up with this type of work that the artist didn't waste many months or years of his life to make perfect. I like that people like Picasso have a long portfolio with very good art pieces and then decide to change into their said style. You can be famous in 2 ways: With success, or a Joke.

In my opinion, the effort of the artist, the work, the ability to create a meaningful work of art is at stake. I think that if the value of art begins to be trivialized in an idea of bringing together elements and just because you are an artist, to say that it is a work of art, we have to start to question the value of art. This is about the limits of the value of art and of judging what is art and what is not art. Allowing this type of work to be considered art, then any one of us is an artist. Just have an original idea, put two elements together, give a title, and put on an exhibition. For me, a work of art to have value must show the artist's work, commitment, effort. This type of work of art irritates me, because it trivializes the work of many and, in my opinion, ridicules the effort and work of many good artists who do not have due recognition.

References:

Grebey, J. (2019) This Banana Was Duct-Taped to a Wall. It sold for $120,000. [online] Available from: https://www.gq.com/story/suddenly-the-koons-is-this-100k-banana#:~:text=The%20fruit%20and%20tape%20in,of%20which%20have%20been%20sold. [accessed on: 17/04/21]

The Conversation (2020) The value of a banana: understanding absurd and ephemeral artwork [online] Available from: https://theconversation.com/the-value-of-a-banana-understanding-absurd-and-ephemeral-artwork-147689 [accessed on: 18/04/21]